Louis de Poortere knows a thing or two about textiles. His family have been cloth manufacturers and merchants in Belgium since 1859. But that wasn’t enough for Louis. He wanted to create something that would last, so he moved into rug design.

Now Louis de Poortere is at the forefront of rug design and rug-making technology. His designs are absolutely of the moment, while the quality of his finish would do his 19th century ancestors proud. Now it’s our turn to feel pride in that great Flemish rug-making tradition. The latest Louis de Poortere collection is on the Funky Rugs website.

Louis de Poortere’s team of designers are an eclectic bunch. One day they draw their inspiration from the pounding surf on a nearby beach, the next they’re captivated by the faded grandeur of a Moghul sultan’s palace. Or they could be thinking Madison Avenue in the ’50s.

All of these influences are in the Funky Rugs collection. Marie Bathellier’s Atlantic Surf design fizzles with the liquid energy of the crashing waves near her studio on the Bay of Biscay. In contrast, the Agra Sur design feels like an instant heirloom. At first glance these intricate and faded designs look as if they belong in a museum. Then you spot the quality of the finish and realise that the warm, lived-in look is an illusion. Centuries of love may have gone into the design, but the rug itself is fresh from its Flemish factory.

In the Griff and Jacob’s Ladder designs we see a similar approach, but this time the references are to cutting-edge designs of 1950s New York. They’re part of the Mad Men collection, a range of rugs that fills a room with the optimism of an era in which anything seemed possible.

There’s much more of course. In all we have 70 Louis de Poortere rugs on our website. There’s a style for every contemporary home – the townhouse with grand windows and floods of light, the minimalist urban apartment, and the cosy rural hideaway of thatch and cob. Discover Louis de Poortere and you’ll be rethinking the most important room in your life.